The DA 02-05-2015

Page 1

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”

da

Thursday February 5, 2015

Volume 127, Issue 88

www.THEDAONLINE.com

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Awarding grants to growing org by corey mcdonald staff writer @dailyathenaeum

Concerns were raised regarding how the Student Government Association monitors and makes use of its funds at the SGA meeting last night. Several grants were passed at the weekly stu-

dent government meeting, however one grant incited debate over how SGA should reward growing student organizations with annual trips and conferences who have had grants awarded to them in the past. The Sport and Exercise Psychology Undergraduate Club was awarded a grant

for $843 to attend a conference in Indiana where students could get the chance to meet and network with professionals in their intended field. This conference is unique for West Virginia University because the club will be one of the only undergraduate organizations attending amongst graduate and

Ph.D. students in the field. After an original amount of $726 was presented from Governor Joy Wang, she did on-the-spot calculations and suggested the increase of members attending the trip -13 percent from last year should be an incentive for more money toward the organization.

“Perhaps we could set a precedent based off of percentages,” Wang said. “Each week when organizations speak for themselves, we learn more info that wasn’t evident in the grant application reports. For example, we didn’t have basis on how

see SGA on PAGE 2

Panelists: The world can learn from Africa by lauren caccamo staff writer @dailyathenaeum

Last night, members from the West Virginia University African Students Association continued their week-long Africa Week program with a panel discussion entitled “Africa: The Growth Continent for the 21st Century.” The student panelists, hailing from a variety of countries across the continent, heatedly discussed the potential role Africa could play on the world stage and whether the negative image Westerners receive from the media is accurate. Teboho Mabuka, president of the WVU African Students Association, said she feels the typical portrayal of Africa by the media is keeping others from the great learning opportunities the continent has to offer. “There’s so much that the world can learn from African culture,” Mabuka said. “There are students here who are studying engineering, the arts, politics—for them, they need to see that Africa is not a burden or a continent waiting for aid and trade. We want them to understand that Africa is a land of opportunity because they are the ones (who) will be making the decisions in the future and it would be awesome for them to have a better perspective.” Panelists tackled difficult

Askar Salikhov/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Samuel Asante, a panel presenter from Ghana, answers questions at the “Africa Week: The Growth Continent for the 21st Century” discussion panel Wednesday in the Mountainlair (above). The presenters answers questions from audience members (left).

questions over whether the continent was really growing to a point where it could be dependent on its own

school from the West tend to go back to their homes, taking the tools of their education and going back to Africa to implement them in a way that is better for us,” said Nicole Simon-Ogan, a junior international politics student, who originally comes from Africa. “It’s not just the engineers and doctors—Africans are becoming musipeople. cians and architects and it’s “I guess I have sort of just allowing us to express an optimistic view. Most ourselves in a way that is Africans that come out of amazing.”

Other panelists were not so optimistic. “I think when looking at terms like GDP and things like that, get away from the question of human development. There are these wars that have persisted for so long, so I’m a little bit cautious to look at this optimistically,” said Kombe Kapatamoyo, a political science student from Zambia. Vincent Nyakubaya, a chemistry student from

see AFRICA on PAGE 2

Health screenings for those Forensics students benefit from mock at risk of heart disease crime scene, first-hand experience by rachel mcbride staff writer @dailyathenaeum

In honor of Heart Awareness Month, the West Virginia Heart Institute will be hosting a “Women Love Your Heart” event. The event consists of free health screenings of blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol analysis. The West Virginia University Human Performance Laboratory, which specializes in disease prevention, management and rehabilitation, provides resources for locals who have a history or risk of developing a heart disease. These resources include weight and stress management, individualized nutrition guidelines and physical activity recommendations. “Every single (health service) is an individualized prescription,” said Diana Gilleland, the manager of the Performance Laboratory. The laboratory con-

tains an adult fitness center which provides exercise equipment and sessions intended to increase flexibility, resistance and cardiovascular strength. Each member enrolled in the program receives an exercise program designed by a qualified exercise physiologist who oversees the exercise sessions. “They have the extra attention, the monitoring of their vital signs while they are here,” Gilleland said. According to Gilleland, family history and environmental factors can increase one’s risk of developing heart disease. These risk factors include weight, diabetes, cholesterol, stress and high blood pressure. However, Gilleland said having a genetic disposition or family history of heart disease does not hinder one from having a high quality of life. “Even if you have the genetic disposition or family

see HEALTH on PAGE 2

18° / 10°

NEW EXHIBIT

INSIDE

Adelaide Paul shows work at Paul Mesaros Gallery A&E PAGE 3

PARTLY CLOUDY

News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 3, 5 Sports: 7, 8, 10 Campus Connection: 6 Puzzles: 6 Classifieds: 8, 9

by taylor jobin staff writer @dailyathenaeum

It was a frigid night on the grassy field between the West Virginia University Life Sciences and Business and Economics buildings when Professor Keith Morris’ senior Bloodstain Pattern Analysis students made their way to a mock crime scene. With the first group arriving around 2:20 a.m. and the second shortly after, it was the students’ first experience outside the normal crime scene complex, located on the Evansdale campus. This fake crime scene tested their abilities of scene security, evidence collection, documentation and packaging. “The main objective of this exercise is to give them a scene which would allow them to think independently, to assess their decision-making skills and the ability to formulate a hypothesis of what took place

Askar Salikhov/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Ashley Cochran and Davis Gould consult with professor Keith Morris about the Mock Crime Scene Investigation Wednesday morning outside of the Life Sciences Building. during the execution of the the participating students crime,” said Morris, an as- received a call from an unsociate professor in the de- known number, telling them partment of Forensic In- to respond immediately to vestigative Science. “It’s the unsecured crime scene. one thing to be able to pro- Next, they had to deal with cess a crime scene, but the a pesky reporter and phoreal thing is how to iden- tographer as they unloaded tify what took place or what their crime scene kits and potentially took place and began their forensic investithen use that as a method gation, looking for any sort to search for evidence.” see CRIME on PAGE 2 The action began when

THE DA’s HIRING WRITERS Inquire about paid positions at The Daily Athenaeum at DA-editor@mail.wvu.edu or pick up an application at our office at 284 Prospect St.

CONTACT US Newsroom 304-293-5092 or DAnewsroom@mail.wvu.edu Advertising 304-293-4141 or DA-Ads@mail.wvu.edu Classifieds 304-293-4141 or DA-Classifieds@mail.wvu.edu Fax 304-293-6857

#OPPOSINGVOICES Vaccinations: Two columnists show different sides to the anti-vaccination movement after the recent measles outbreak OPINION PAGE 4

MountaineerThon charity right around the corner by courtney gatto staff writer @dailyathenaeum

West Virginia University’s dance marathon fundraiser, the annual MountaineerThon, is right around the corner. On Feb. 28, from noon - midnight at the Erickson Alumni Center, students will gather to dance and raise money for a cause that is close to countless people’s hearts in Morgantown: The WVU Children’s Hospital. Chelsea Arvin, the executive director of MountaineerThon, said she has big plans for this year’s event and that she is excited for the actual day to arrive. “We have games, we learn to dance, we do prizes and raffles every hour. There will be food and we will have a few kids come that have been treated at the Children’s Hospital and their parents will tell their stories,” Arvin said. Students from all over campus are welcome and are encouraged to sign up and join the fun. “We are just trying to get all the student organizations or even anyone just on campus to get involved. They can sign up on their own team or they could sign up as an individual,” Arvin said. “We ask that they raise a minimum of $50.” The theme for the evening will be “Being Kids for the Kids.” Students will dance to music genres starting in the early 1990s all the way into 2015. “Every 28 minutes we will do a new year. So it’ll be like 1990s music for 28 minutes. Later it’ll be ‘91 and so on and so forth,” Arvin explained. “Everyone likes throwback music, so we think it’s going to be a lot of fun.” In addition to contributing to raising money for a huge cause, students will also receive many additional benefits from attending the event. On top of having the opportunity to help such a big cause, students can receive up to 15 community service hours, win prizes, receive a free T-shirt and even make some memories that could last a lifetime. Arvin is excited to make new memories this year. In years past, there has been one thing that sticks out in her mind - something she will always treasure. “Every year, when the kids come, there is this tradition that we do. We have everyone line up in two lines on each side facing each other so we make almost like a tunnel,” Arvin said. “The kids will either ride on someone’s back or they’ll dance and just run down the center of the tunnel. They absolutely love it. It’s their favorite part of coming, and it’s one of my favorite things that we’ve done.” Many students have already signed up for the event and are looking forward to being able to support the cause. “I’m looking forward to Dance Marathon this year because I wasn’t able to attend last year,” said Deanna Neiser, a junior public relations student. Students can register until the day of the event and track the top fundraisers and the top teams. To register, donate or find additional information about the event, visit the website at http://mountaineerthon. com. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

CAN YOU ‘EER THAT? WVU defeats TCU 76-71 SPORTS PAGE 7


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
The DA 02-05-2015 by The Daily Athenaeum - Issuu